Adjunct Professor
Peter Timms

Biography

Research theme: Food, Health
Research discipline: Cell and Molecular Biosciences
Research program: Infectious Diseases
Research area

• Development of chlamydial vaccines

Chlamydia causes several serious diseases including sexually transmitted infections, infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, respiratory infections and trachoma. The team is group is using animal models to develop vaccines for urogenital infections in both women and men.

• Basic studies on stress response in Chlamydia

Chlamydia are effective intracellular parasites and are constantly responding to "stress conditions". They have evolved a range of mechanisms to survive, including some novel proteins. The research group is studying various stress-related proteins using a range of molecular approaches.

• Chlamydial infections in wildlife

Chlamydia continues to be a significant cause of disease in koala but is also found in other Australian wildlife including bandicoots, possums, frogs. Professor Timms's research group is part of an international project to analyse the full genome of the koala strain of Chlamydia pneumoniae, to understand how it is different to the human strains. They have also commenced a vaccine development program for koalas.
Areas of expertise

• Chlamydia


• Vaccines


• Diagnostics


• Molecular microbiology.

Current grants:

• 
  2009 – 2012: ARC Linkage Scheme (LP0990147): $290,000; Timms & Beagley; Development of an anti-Chlamydia vaccine for the koala
  


• 
  2009 - 2011: NHMRC: $309,500; Timms, Beagley, Hafner & Ramsey; Development of a vaccine for genital chlamydial infections; protection against transmission and disease pathology
  


• 
  2009 - 2011: NHMRC: $517,000; Beagley & Timms; Towards a Chlamydia vaccine for males; The key role of mucosal IgA
  


• 
  2009-2011: NHMRC: $373,500; Huston & Timms; Role of HtrA and RseP, stress response proteases, in development and persistence of Chlamydia trachomatis infections
  


• 
  2009: Wesley Research Institute: $42,170; Allan, Huston, Timms & Debattista; Identification of Chlamydia trachomatis proteases which have a role during the immunopathological disease which results in infertility in women
  


• 
  2008 - 2011: ARC Linkage: $90,000; Beagley & Timms; Development of an effective vaccine for chlamydial infection : optimization of a non-toxic cholera toxin-based adjuvant to generate a protective mucosal immunity.
  

Selected research projects

• Development of a chlamydial vaccine


• Development of novel chlamydial diagnostic tests


• Understanding chlamydial gene regulation


• Understanding chlamydial pathogenesis


• Chlamydial diseases of wildlife.